August 27, 2025 • 41 mins
🎙️Raider Nick at Night – Kaeo Weekes: The Miracle in Mudgee
This week on Raider Nick at Night, I sit down with rising star Kaeo Weekes fresh off the unforgettable Miracle in Mudgee. We unpack that wild finish, how the boys pulled it off, and what it meant for the Green Machine.
Kaeo shares his inspiring journey to the NRL — the challenges he’s overcome, the sacrifices made along the way, and the fresh sense of freedom and expression he’s found at the Raiders that’s taken his game to another level.
We also look ahead at the rest of the season — the focus, the energy, and what Raider Nation can expect from Kaeo and the team as they charge toward finals footy.
It’s raw, it’s inspiring, and it’s all Raiders. Don’t miss it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's not here for the clickbait for the count side critics.
It's real and full of deep and meaningfuls with the
Raiders in a circle from laughs.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
To hard truth. He'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Ditch the negative noise and get behind the boys. This
is Raider Nick.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, I look forward to this chat. He is a quiet,
humble man, doesn't say too much, is a man of
limited words. But Jesus by Jingo boy Craik, he doesn't
he express and communicate on the footy field. I talk
about our number one, our star without embarrassing mister kaya Weeks.
How are you mate?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Good, like that very very big intro.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You are a man of limited words, Oh aren't you?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah? I guess so. I guess yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I sort of been like that since I was younger.
Bit uh shy, I guess.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
At fullback, though, you've got to have the chat. How
do you deal with that?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Well, I guess I sort of struggle. I still struggle
with that when I was still a little bit younger.
But you sort of have to realize that that's that's
your job, and you need to be able to talk
and boss the big boys around, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Once across that field, you know, it all sort of
mindset sort of switches and it's it. Yeah, you got
to go to work.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, coming from the halves, you're used to bossing the
big boys around, so that would have been a good
transition with you growing through growing up though, Kai where'd
you're play in juniors?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I played.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I've played all my footage tours for like fifteen or
sixteen five eight.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Wow, So you were definitely a behlf and never any
never any feelings at fullback?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
No, not really, Like I only started playing fullback and
one year of su bore and then yeah, just sort
of been going back and forth since then. But yeah,
I always always five to eight half back, go like,
I never really thought about anything else.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Played in the halves. And you obviously you were a
Manly junior, weren't you.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah? Yeah, so yeah I was at Manly. I went
through the pathways there.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I joined Manly when I was fourteen, So I did
have matt as you bore flag Cup and then full
like full.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Time first grade and then yeah it came camera last year.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Who did you did you kind of who did you
support growing up?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Like I didn't really have like all my I had
a team like our family team is the Dragons because
my my grandfather played for Dragons back in the day.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Who was grandfather Jeff Weeks?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, yeah, interesting, Yeah he played a few and those
he played in a a few of the Grand finals
and they went like eleven straight.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And run.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
The big names.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah yeah, yeah, he played a couple of those ended
up on the trophy. Yeah close.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
But yeah, like personally, like I didn't really I don't
really like to support our full team.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I really I just supported like players that I really liked.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Who were some of the players that you got around.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I used to like, I used to like watching like
Shawn Johnson, Kevin Locke, Jared Hayne obviously.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Kind of boys.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well I don't know, like.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
There's obviously a lot, like a wide range of players
I really like growing up. But yeah, probably my main
one of Sean Johnson, just because I played in the
halves too.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Did you play against Sewan at all? You would have?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
No?
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Never, never, never was I was good enough to play earlier?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So yeah, miss b buy you.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You got to Manly? That that would have been great
playing at Manly. Beautiful place to leave the Northern Beaches.
But Manly would have been an okay, experience for you
to get your run through the juniors. It's always good
when you're in a junior system and to go to way,
go through the way because you know yourself. I mean,
when you're playing juniors and Howrold Matt's jersey flair against
g ball, you can very quickly scatter, and you can
(03:41):
mate and go to other clubs or just drop off completely.
But to see it through and run out in first grade,
that must have been a great little honor for you.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, no, it was cool, like you sort of. My
debut sort of happened pretty quick. I only found out
a captain's run because someone had COVID COVID. I mean, yeah,
Lucky Croak added COVID.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
N Yeah, he had COVID and then yeah, we went
to team meeting and I just saw my name on
the board. I was, oh, damn.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
But yeah, yeah, it was cool because, like we had
there was a few boys who played juniors with many
who are playing at the time, like Josh Schuster, Tyler Kohler,
a bench.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Of Voi, witch.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Shot Shooter.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah yeah, sure, yeah, So what happens when you grow
up playing a lot of footy with these boys? You know,
he created like a good bond and especially you know,
like we won hald Maths together. We went to a
few grand finals together, but we didn't win to Hawd
Maths or actually bo we went to a few grand finals.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah in the ranks.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But so you played at the big stage at the
junior level, which is always it's a big one.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah, we've got I think we got the first the
first hard Maths UH grand final and they can think
that mainly.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
So yeah, I played, I played Harold Betz and we
had called Magie McGuire coaching, Aounis and Neil Henry and
all them. And we played in the semi final against
the Bulldogs and we had to win, like they scraped
in and we were like have done a year and
they beat us and they coached him talked to us
for three days, mate, sometimes it was sons on the
(05:20):
whole way home. Talk to us until for a few
vis at the presentation. But mate, I remember you've got
to court the Raiders and without embarrassing you there, you know,
a huge profile left. We had Jack White and leave
and then they know Ricky went out. And you know Ricky,
he doesn't want to get one replacement. He likes to
get three into one. He likes to create competition for spots.
(05:42):
He's ubcepts obsessed with depth, but he has to because
we don't get the big marquees yet to Canberra. We
make our own. We make our own being the Operative world,
and we've got a few on our own right now.
How did it come about the phone call to come
to Canberra? And had that a unfold?
Speaker 4 (06:00):
So I met my manager and Joel Carline for lunch
one day and I was just talking to Joel and
stuff like that, and obviously Jack was leaving, and Joel
whipped out his computer and started showing me like clips
and stuff of me.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Playing, like I've never sort of experienced something like that on.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
A different.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Oh yeah, well just someone who just came to talk
to me.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And then he he wanted to show me clips of
myself playing.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I was like, Oh, this guy he.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Might actually really care, he might actually watch, Like he's
not just trying to full time or yes, just to
say hello or some just to show that the club's interested.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, just tacking the box. He's actually it's committed.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah. And then.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I was supposed to go meet Stick when the season finished,
but that they were boys still playing finals and they
were playing Newcastle.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
They just lost. It's the Newcastle that semi final. It's Stick.
The next thing.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I was pretty nurse, so I didn't know how he
was going to feel and if he's going to be
a bit angry or whatnot. And me and my old
boy drove down and met Stick and Yeah, he just
sort of said like like I want you, I want
you here, like and I need you to be ready
and stuff like that. And it was just sort of
just like that sense of belonging since that he really wanted.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Me here and he really cared.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah, And like obviously when someone you know lays it
out in front of you, like doesn't really it won't
lie to you and tell you how it is like
the balls in your court, like you sort of want
to do everything to show them.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, like it is like I'm ready sort of type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And that you just walk away so pumped on that a.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, like you just feels you of confidence and he's like, oh,
this guy like he cares and he believes in me.
That's sort of the main thing you need someone you coach.
You want your coach to believe in you and back you.
So yeah, that Alayne just said to my old boy,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's amazing. I said to Save last week on this
show and we spoke about this, and a lot of
people ask me, what's Ricky Stewart like, Because there's all
these different perceptions are sticky and you know yourself, you
know the ones that are in the inner sanctum of Ricky.
Youton knows the true passionate man that he is. Yeah,
but I Reckon and I ask him what's his best attribute?
He's got lots of good attributes. But there's a wonderful
(08:26):
thing about Ricky Stewart is you feel seen, don't you.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah, Well that's that's yeah, Like you can come in
and anyone can talk in meetings like there's no there's
no like ranks, so to speak, Like we've got we've
got tapped with our leadership group and got our coaching staff,
but everyone's voice is heard, you know, like you've got
something to say, you can say it and sort of
like a safe space to to you know, chip boys
up or bring up opinions when we've got meetings out
(08:53):
in the field like and that's sort of just that
that's a big part in itself, just being able to
speak your mind and not feel like have freedom. Yeah,
like people gonna take the piss out of your stuff
like you.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Know, yeah, have freedom. And everyone's just kind of on
just backing. You're on your side and there's no wrong
answer and yeah there's no there's no toxic masculinity.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Well yeah, like everyone, Yeah, everyone does have opinion that
they sort of asked you what do you think? Yeah,
And to be able to be comfortable enough to speak
your mind, yeah, like it's good.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
That's great. And just being seen by Ricky being seen
the Raiders, he would have worded up Joel there and
then or you would have been like spinning out, like
how does he know all this looks he's got clips
on me? And how good it is and you know
it's not manipulative. It's like this guy's fair income.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, we're just He was just saying, like, I like
these things that you do here, and we could do
something we could use help you, Yeah, to improve yourself,
like did you see you doing this?
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Difference you do it on.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
The other side or vice versa, you know, like they
see good things and they see the bad things, like
he told me my first time meeting him, and he
was telling me like I can do things bad.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I was like, Okay, that's I mean, that's awesome because
you want you want to hear that. And and he's
doing your favor because he's digging out his strengthening weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Yeah, like he's not just trying to tell me how
good I am or how like try to fill my
ties up or whatever. Like he's sort of, you know,
saying these things that we can help, we can help
work on and stuff for that. And yeah, I just
I liked I liked how it sounded. And after I
met both of them, I came out to the club,
had to.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Look around and stuff like that, Like it was. It
was cool. I was pretty committed.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
My manager and my dad were pretty keen for me
to go down.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So yeah, it was good.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And then we fast forward to the start of the
year and the game where you really got on the
canber Raiders radar without embarrassing. It was that game against
Manly and we I think it was at a Thursday
night we played them. They were actually I think it
was eighteen zip. At one stage, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Oh, yeah, it wasn't a great start.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It was a great start, but to come back against
Manly at profile over as you know, not not an
easy thing to do, you with an informed d C
at the helm and DCE for some reason always pulls
his socks up against the Raiders. For some reason, him
and Croaks used tot Lachlan. I mean, you know Craigs,
because Craig's got you know, once to get back one
on the team obviously his old team. But DC, everyone
(11:14):
was there. They skipped away and then you suddenly start
coming back. But yourself, are you outstanding, very instrumental, and
they come back. You were poking goals from the corner.
You kicked it six from six that night or something,
scored a try, set a few up, really put yourself
on the radar there. That would have been a good
That was almost like you arriving at the club, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Oh yeah, well yeah, it was a bit of a
slow start to the season. But my first game in
first grade wasn't the best. And then we got a
beat forty nil by the Sharks at home, and then
we obviously knew it was a big test going to
go up against Manly the next week, and.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Like Elliott, Elliot, what, I had.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
A fantastic game that game too, you know, as I skipper,
he was leading from the front. He tries you got
the intercept that that let's set me up for my
first I think even gave me a flick pass. But
it's like it was just it was a real big
team effort and miserable all night, but it was it
was it was good to get a win. And yeah,
it was good to get a win up at brook
(12:11):
And I remember that that week because we had a
we had a buy coming in after that and it
was sort of a very big game for us.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
It was a good old game, but a tough game,
but yeah, it was. It was good to get a
win there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
It was there a sense of I don't know if
you can remember because it was a while ago now,
but is there a sense of familiarity because you grew
up on those fields of brook Fall and here you
are today. I mean, you're kicking goals from Asylum. But
if anyone knows just the comference of that, you know, grass,
the goldflast ground, it's hard like yourself.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, well, uh, you know, it was a long time
since I was on the other the other end of.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
The manly fans. But it was good. It was good.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Experience, and obviously we played that at the start of
the year. This year, there wasn't one of my my finest,
my finest hours either, but yeah, it's that's footy.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Some as you win, sometimes you're losing. Yeah, that was
a good game back then.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
That was sport in general, and that you said you
can't sometimes you just can't explain today. But then obviously
Ricky puts you back to fullback. I can the storm.
It was a bit of a lean period were going through.
He puts you back at full back, and wow, putting
you with all that room at the back there in
the back three, with space to wind up and room
to move, I mean you scored one of those hundred
(13:25):
tries that you've become a bit of a stock standard
thing for you. That would have been cool. How'd you feel,
first of all when you said you're playing fullback? What
was that like?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yeah, it came a bit of a shockers rapper told me,
like in the car park, he goes, are you playing
fullback this week?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Because he hated it, he wanted to go back to
the wing. But yeah, it was good.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I enjoyed it was even that game was a bit
of a rocky starter I didn't think I caught too
many balls at the starter.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Wow we old night.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
But yeah, we only just lost against against Melbourne too.
But yeah, that was that was a tough game. I
really I enjoyed that. That game just sort of showed
out how much gritain, you know, toughness the boys had
that night. Like I know, we defended up a fair
lot that game.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I remember it.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Was a gutsy performance against the Storm nearly had them. Yeah,
it was a bit of a realignment and we finished
the season strong, of course, from the last three Pantheit
Roosters beat the Dragons who were find for eighth position
going into the off season and now kind of establishing
yourself at fullback and coming in from half and you
mentioned you had no experience at fullback, so are you're
(14:35):
still a work in progress there? What was it like
with sticking in the coaches and in your position there?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
You take the games week by week, but you sort
of take learnings from every week and every game in
every session.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
That you have, you know, like.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Just for me personally, I just try to, I don't know,
just just grow, grow and learn from experiences. You know,
whether it's a good or bad game. You to take
some things out of the game, whether it's errors or
like you miss you miss your job, where you miss
a care or you miss a tackle, whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
You know, you just always got to keep learning.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
And our coaching staff and our players, they really test
us a week by well every week, you know, to
get better and to get that little improvements too, to
get our team better.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So yeah, every week is a new challenge and yeah,
I just enjoy it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
And now for our Raiders on Mixed Call team here
in Canberra, you got our of the year and we
just awarded to that recently, so we're happy to give
you that. But that must be cool because you didn't
start the season, you know, you didn't come into a
certain amount of period of time. And we base that
on you know, we all put a Man of the
(15:50):
Match on we all, you know, we all vote amount
of the match. A lot of us have all got
different ways we view the game, but a lot of
the times, man, we all agreed on yourself. That's that's
something cool. I remember I told you that at the
presentation and they're like, WI spit in your ings, like
I just got going to award. So we've got to
get you ready to do some presentations the next thing. Okay,
let's announce the Coaches Award. The twenty twenty four Canber
(16:14):
rated season goes to Kio Weeks.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
No, that was crazy. I couldn't believe it, to be honest.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I was just like, there's obviously a lot of boys
could have got it, and a lot of boys had
a pretty good, pretty good solid season.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
And then Stick, Oh, I mean, what's what's her name?
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yvonne said, yeah, yeah, of course Fox.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah, she said my name. I was, what the hell
was this?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
How many champagnes have I had? He thinks?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah. I was so shocked. I was like, what the
hell's going on?
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And I remember Stick when I shook Stick saying, he's
like he just said, like enjoy it, like this is
for you?
Speaker 3 (16:59):
What the hell?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Mate? And then you doubled up with the Raiders and
explainer the mate, Peanut understand why either it's a good traph,
isn't it? It's pretty good traph.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah, it's pretty solid growth, to be honest, solid mate.
It's bigger than my bigger than my raiders on.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
But yeah, well rapper on it once and I went
to his house and we watched it. I mean we
spoke about it with the big guitar video and he
moved his like meaning a medal away to the side
to put that one in. He loved the station. He
loved the old, old, old bang of tunes. I remember
when you when you when you went up there and
you said, I love this town and I love this club.
And for everyone, you know, myself included, but for everyone
(17:40):
in that crowd who are just Canbra first Camebra people,
but also secondly, well just as much Raiders people as well.
It's always a good feeling when we see a boy
that's come from out of Canbra, you know, especially in
a nice you know, a nice beautiful place like the
Manly Beaches, Northern Beaches, and to come and just say
there's nowhere else I want to be. And how quickly
(18:01):
you've galvanized and become a Camberon. That was beautiful, man,
And that was that gave everyone goose bumps. What is
it about camber and what is about the club that
made you kind of make statements like that?
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Just the people, to be honest, like, our club does
a fantastic job of like welcoming players in because obviously
you have to get away from wherever you're from, is
from Sydney or Queensland or wherever it is from, well
away from your family family, and you come to Canberra.
The club does a great job in welcoming them and
supporting them, and especially the boys. You know, our playing
(18:37):
group is so tight, Our partners are tight. You know,
they go for they go for lunches or whatever it is.
And yeah, if you see one of the boys, you
more than likely see one one of the other boys
or their family.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
At the same place.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So the club has done a done a great job.
And just the people of Camber, you know, they're so
so welcoming. You can you can bump into people in
the street and get noticed or or knock get bumped
into it, or people are just.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
So nice, you know, like it's just it's pretty. It's
pretty easy going.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
And that's sort of how I like it, you know,
like not too fast, just easy going, get bitter, relaxing,
and you know, like it's good.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
It's good.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
It's a good place when obviously when we're winning, but yeah,
when when the family is happy and the town's happy,
you know, it's a good place to be around.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
It's very it's it's very spacious, isn't it. But it's
spacious around everything. It kind of creates that space in
your head too. You know, you're not stressing around and
it's in a big city and it's got those kind
of cool benefits. And he's all about ten fifteen minutes
away from each other. Yeah, and when you're winning, mate,
you're don't feel the cold.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, I know you don't feel the cold as much
as much.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You're right there. We're going to talk about this year
and I don't want to embarrass it, but I'll just
say it made some of the some of your performances,
some of your individual bits coming out of the team
performances have been amazing. My man and I I want
to talk about. Someone asked me, what's We're doing a
promo at the radio. It's called the four year Moment
of the Year where we've got listeners that got to
(20:07):
submit their favorite moment, their four year moment, and then
we're going to give them a nice prize and we're
going to judge it. And I mentioned mine. My favorite
moment this year was the magic round Chip and Chase
by Kyo the wet Yeah, brilliance man like, And I
don't want to put you on the spot there. That's
kind of like backyard footy stuff. What it's hard because
(20:29):
I know you're not thinking about it, and I know
you don't wake up in the morning go okay, I'm
going to do a chip and chase in the week
Golden Point to win against the storm. It just happens
in reaction. What where do you think that comes from?
What kind of place you think that comes from? Coya?
Speaker 3 (20:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Ah, to be honest, it just sort of happened. I
sort of I don't know thinking about it.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Oh, I just sort of just sort of did it.
I can't really explain.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
It just happened.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
It just yeah, it just actually just happened. Lucky I
a half decent bounce.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Do you think that is because of the freedom you
feel at the rates to do that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Stuff, Yeah, I think so, especially like the confidence that
Sick gives us to back our ability. Probably a couple
of years ago I probably wouldn't have done it. Maybe
I probably would have tried to run. But yeah, just
the confidence that the playing staff and the playing group
give give the boys to back their own abilities.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
And yeah, it's just great. And you can just see
what what confidence does for a person.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
So yeah, isn't that beautiful when you've got a coach.
And then on the outside of people might think he's
hard to you know, hard to be underne and he'll
admit in his younger years you evolved to get this plays.
But you know, again we all know the real Stick
on the inside. But him to say to you, I
don't mind you making mistakes when you're trying things.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, well he always says that to us.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
But as a matter of fact, like you can make
a mistake, but if you're not practicing it, try it
like you do what a training can chuck up big bombs.
You can cheap and tastes that training. So as long
as you're practicing it, like I guess, he doesn't mind.
But there's no point trying to trying to do something
you haven't done and try to pull off in a
(22:09):
big game where it really it really matters, like you
need to be able to have the repetitions behind behind
the craft, I guess, And that's what Stick sort of
drills into us, is like you can do those things,
but obviously you need to back your own ability first,
but they also want you can.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
You remember what he said to you after that game.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Uh nah too, honest, that's a probably a long time
ago now, but was it addressed in any way? Just
that night was just a good performance again again against Melbourne,
you know, very tough, gridy winner, went all the way
down to the wire. But yeah, like I still remember
that magic ground game like it was. They also another
fast start and we had to fight our way back,
(22:51):
and that just sort of shows what type of team
we are and how how hard we want to work
for each.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Other what happens when you're behind, because I remembers talking
to Papa about this a few weeks ago too, and
this year we've had a lot of those big wins
have come from behind. I'll get to the Panthers win
in shortly, but just a couple of games that we're
down against we'll down against Melbourne that time angle down
by twelve even fourteen zippy thing, it might have been
(23:15):
fourteen zip it close, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yeah, they've got a few quick tries at the start.
I remember that.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
But I think it's just it's real calm and real clear,
like you're obviously going to get.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
A bit of a bit of reaction or a bit of.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Anger towards a decision or a try. But to be
able to bring yourself back in pretty quick and just
regulate your emotions is just you know, get back to
the next job.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
I think we're done. We've done a pretty good job
of that at.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
The moment or this season anyway, I'm not really holding
onto mistakes or or calls, you know, like it's done.
You have to leave it where it is and just
just move on with the next thing, to be honest.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Just dump it.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
Yeah, well it's sort of you have to get over
it all, Like what are you going to do about it?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
To be honest, we looked really fit this year.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Yeah, well, I Precedson is always hard, but our precid
this year it was pretty.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Hard, and it was pretty It's pretty focused on what
we want to and what we.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Want to be good at, and that's just you know,
just staying in the game and staying fit. You know,
like fitness can either win you or lose you the game,
you know.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
So stick and stick in.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Our coaching staff and made a great luck emphasis on
our on training recovery, getting getting your body right so.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You can go out there and perform.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
And our boys did a week and week out at
training you know, we always we're still testing each other
till to the final muscle goals or the sessions. The
sessions finished, you know, like you're not going to get
better by running through the motions each.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And every week, you know. So yeah, we're feeling feeling
good and looking good.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I think a couple of those against the Dragons at
home classics, I've got to mention it made to that
Chip and Chase that was like, yeah, that that was
like my like those one hundred meters to try or
the two of them you scored against the Dragons, and
obviously the Chip and Chase and there is obviously probably listening,
so Marlow's we've got the new mallows here weeks. Just
(25:12):
it's just it just that's what's so beautiful about it.
And I think it just sums up where youse are,
like you just you can't sit there and say, hey,
I'm going to do this. It's just all of spare
of the moment stuff. And how you can do that
is have that freedom knowing what your role is and
then being in the moment of the game.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
So the eightieth minute, no, I think, yeah, they're sort
of you sort of knock the right on the head.
There's being able to have the freedom but also knowing
your role, Like if you're not if you don't know
your role, you're not going to be in the right
place or do the right thing at the right time.
So I think they're just they're not coincidences because you know,
(25:50):
you work too hard during the week and in your prep,
like things just don't happen just because like you have
to be there to be able to do things a
trial score, a try or a big special play, you know.
But I think that's sort of the thing that we
pride ourselves on to doing those things that sort of
a regular fan I don't really see, or a commentated
(26:11):
that doesn't see, but our boys see, you know, like
a kick, pressure, winning attack with you know, just just
those little things that the good teams are good at.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Okay, let's move on to the Panthers game.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yeah, Nathan Cleary has been known to put the jumper
over his head for a bit of a gag and
to slot those field goals blindfolded from twenty meters out.
You know, they could call him the ice Man. Yeah,
he's the ice Man. He's won premierships on one leg.
You know, we've all seen it. What's the life planing
against Nathan Cleary.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Oh that was my I think second time playing against
Nathan Cleary. The first time wasn't very wasn't a very
hot one. I was out at Penrith a couple of
years ago when I was at Manly and yeah, I
think that's called about like three or four trials on
my age in the first half and I was like,
what the hell am I got myself into?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
But yeah, on the weekend it was a wow after
everything he's done in the.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Game and how great he is, you know, like it
was quite a you know, a good a good moment,
a good game too, to see where where us boys
were at the moment and how he shaped up against
you know.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Like a very good top side, like like the Panthers.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
He goes that field goal, Yeah, the gut starts to
sink as like he's going to ic hits the goal,
hits the goal. What could you remember what you were
feeling when he had the ball when he struck it,
because it left the boots sweetly anything shit, he has
kicked it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
But then I want to go charge it down.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
You ran out of the line to charge it down.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Yeah, I ran.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah, I ran from my a I want to go
charge it down and I missed and I turned around.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I was like, oh no, this is like, this is
going in.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
I thought I would have given the post and and
still gone through, but it hit the post and came
back and I was like, oh my, who's there?
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Who's there?
Speaker 4 (28:04):
And I've seen Jeddie pop out of nowhere and yeah,
I guess yeah, that he passed the stranger. Then strange
you stepped a couple, thundered the couple, and then I
thought the strange is going to go all the way
to I was sort of just cheering. I was like, yeah,
go boy, go go go.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
But then you passed it to me, and yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
What were you feeling when you scored that dry man?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
I just I just thought I knew I had to
put the ball down like he'd done all the hard work,
so hopefully I didn't spoil it. But yeah, once once
it once a game was finished, like it was a
bit of a relief, you know, like everything you will
check down well to play the ball the way back
and down the end of the field, and yeah, the
game was finished, and it was just sort of like, yeah, Okay,
(28:50):
it's done now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Because you had to kind of stop and or kind
of almost turn back a little bit because the ball
was the past was a little bit too inside and
you had to go that mid motion. It was a
little bit soggy, yet there wasn't it, And then to
to get it in and to just have the pace
to score down you went but over the line.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Yeah, well it was a bit juy that night, but
I wasn't.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
I wasn't even looking when you passed it, to be honest,
I was looking at Jenkins seeing how fire was from him,
and then I turned back and the balls almost hit
him in the shoulder.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I said, oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
But yeah, I sort of knew from a little bit
if I just fell over and held onto the ball
that it'll be a try hopefully.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So yeah, it was. It was an intense couple of seconds,
but yeah, once it was once it was over, it
was over, And yeah it was good.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
What was a feeling down in that huddle when it
was a big pylon? I mean, to win a golden
point against anyone, Yeah, it's you know, it's just scare
of the moment, you know, one of those things. And
the crazy thing about that is Penrith were in front
the whole game, in the whole the whole game, and
then we squired it up at the end and then
to just for the first time to be in front
(29:55):
at the right moment, right the miracle that Maggie.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Yeah, I don't know. It was sort of not.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Like a relief, but like it's just that hard work,
you know that we talk about, just like if Jedty's
not there then they score, and Stranger's not there, then
we don't even score. We don't get at the other
end of the field. It's just everyone backing themselves again.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
We fall back to that. But yeah, once once that
pylon started happening, it was just like but yeah, like
that was good. It was it was a good thing
to be a part of. And yeah, it was a
good win for the club.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
But I think it was just good win for our season.
Just you know, so we're at leading into finals and
although we didn't we both didn't play probably to our
best of abilities.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
But it was a tough game, tough old gritty game
with the whole the whole.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Eighty five or whatever how long it went for. But yeah,
it was a good game to be part of.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
It's crazy how you guys are leading the competition. You
are still a work in progress and you haven't even
hit your stripes yet.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, well, I think, yeah, just just all that hard
work and the belief that we have, Like we've always
had belief down in especially coming in the preseason, you know,
being away from everyone else and being down in Cambra.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
It's it's a little bit easier just you know.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
To dial in and to stay away from the cameras
and stuff like that. But that belief was strong ever
since we started pre season and at the start, at
the start of the season, we talked about given this competition,
you know, like a real go and why kn'd of
be yus? And yeah, I think we're just we're just
doing that week by week now.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
And I've said this to everyone. The humility you guys have,
it's kind of like it's when I talk to you guys,
it's like we're talking. It was like it's like last
year because they haven't skipped it. Be he's still the same,
you haven't been altered by what's happened so far, and
there's still a job to do and that's what's so
pleasing and a lot of people are saying, oh, you know,
it's you know, I hope you don't get too complacent
(31:53):
against those kind of lower teams we're playing. And it's like, no, no,
you watch the boys are very calm and very grounded.
Ricky keeps the lid on things and he allows us
you celebrate and then dump it and then move on
to the next week. What was the celebrations like after
the game in Mudgy.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
There wasn't too much of a celebration, to be honest, though.
We had to get on the plane pretty quickly after
the game. And you've probably seen the like we've got
a bit of a drinking not a drinking band, but
just be a bit sensible, you know, around drinking. It's
just just because the position position we're in at the moment,
you know, like the older boys always talk about how
(32:32):
hard it is to get to where we are, and
you know, you don't want to take it for granted, especially.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Just at the end of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
We always talk about sacrifice, and you know, what's what's
what's sacrificing the drink for a couple of weeks, so,
you know, for for a piece of history. So yeah,
that's the celebrations after after mudge went went too good,
but it went too big, I mean, but yeah, it's
it's all about we haven't really done much yet. We
(33:02):
haven't done what we said we want to do yet,
so it's all about ticking them boxes.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
And yeah, you know, finishing the season strong.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
How much do you take on a bit of a
buzz and off the glove that thing to happen to you?
Were you kind of pumped in your own mind for
a couple of days after that?
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Oh no, it's sort of it's sort of it's over.
Like it's cool on the moment, then it's done. You know,
you've got to get over going to get over a
loss or win as quickly as you can. You know,
if you stay in the past too long, you don't
look don't look ahead. And we've got a good challenge
this week, especially at home, you know, our last regular
season home game and against.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
The Tigers, and you know that then I push over.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
They're playing some good footy at the moment, so like, yeah,
as as I said, like it's it's good in the.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Moment, but you have to be able to move on
pretty quickly.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
And that's yeah, sort of something that I'm trying to
do especially whether it's.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Good or bad. You know, you've got to move on
pretty quickly and get onto the new challenge.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
And the thing is, at the time, it's like any
team with Coroussel and Luai in there, and you know yourself,
with those those players as players with the rip experience,
they can just show up on a day and just
have a blinder and they can carry the team.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
You know, yeah, well, anyone can beat anyone this year,
like you've seen that, Like we didn't play too well
against the Dragons and they beat us down at wins Stadium,
or the Tigers being at dogs, Like it's anyone can
bet anyone, and you've got to show up on the
day and you got to put your best your best
foot forward.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
And hopefully we're looking to do that again at home.
What do you like about camer The food? I love
the food here.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
You're a foody, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Yeah, a bit of a foodie. I like to go
I like to eat out him. I shouldn't.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
My parents and my partner always tells me I should
start making food and starts spending.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
So much food on takeout.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
But I love going out and you know, trying trying
new things, and it always tastes better when someone's cooked
for you.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
So yeah, well it's good.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's good because if you're busy, if you want to
lead a busy life, and you do a lot of
hard work on the you the footy, on the training
of pat can you do a lot of fo and
you do a lot of a lot of output, it's
good to just go to a nice restaurant, let someone
else do it and relax and enjoy. You know, there's
nothing wrong with that, mate.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Yeah, I know, especially when I'm with my partner.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
You know, she works, she trains extremely hard too, so
whenever we're together, that's aught he's eating out and you know,
just I don't know, just enjoying, enjoying each other's company.
I think that's what I love about it so much.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
And you've really adapted to living in camera, like coming
from you know, being a Sydney boy. Really you love camera.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Yeah, cameras, cameras amazing.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
You know, it's it's fast enough or busy enough, but
it's also slow enough that you can just cruise around
and you know, just just enjoy enjoy the day or
enjoy the city or golf or whatever you're into. You know,
like I'm on into golf yet, but I should be
into golf. A lot of the boys are into it.
But hopefully next year I'll get into golf and get
(35:49):
down there on the good courses we got here. But yeah,
I just like how how busy camera can be, but
also at the same time how slow and relax it
can be.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
A love a minus ten handicaping, no time matete. Who
have you warned to? I know, like you know, these
are all one tight unit and camera. It's probably the
Raiders are probably the most harmonious teams in the competition,
considering we're just in a little bubble here and we're
so close and all the Traveler used dance. These are
all brothers or the brotherhoods there. But is there someone
(36:20):
in particular that you might have leanked towards because you've
got you know, you're similar in personality or something like that.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I don't know. We're like, oh, and so they always
get like your little groups.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
And whatnot, and like we always sort of have like
a little walk like a little walking crew or a
little gim crew or little barque crew, and it's just
full of some of the some of the younger lads
like toy Mooney, Albert HOPWARDI Micros some more. Sim I've
missed I've missed people right now and I can think
of it right now.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
But yeah, just the whole whole bunch of.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Boys that we you know, just get around, go for
a coffee, go for a walk, go to gym whatever
it is, go.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Have feeds that go to their houses, watch the footy.
You know, just just those things makes living here a
lot easier. And yeah, that's sort of sort of sort
of the crew at the moment.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Something tells me too that you don't mind some of
your own companies well to recharge a little bit.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Yeah, yeah, I'm sort of I sort of do like
my own company.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
Like I can go out to the shops or go
go get food by myself like that. Those things don't
really bother me, like I do like my own company.
But yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Let me tell you, when you get older, you pray
for your own company, especially when you have kids. Mate,
you love going out getting a feed on your own,
you love might I'll even end up going to the
movies on my own just to kind of get away
from the noise and.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
Just yeah, like sometimes you know, you see the boys
every day you don't want to be with them all
day and your off day either.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So yeah, things by yourself. It's it's easy and just
chill do whatever I do. Like my I do enjoy
my own space.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Absolutely because you're not you know, you're the football guy,
you're the relationship guy, you're the sun guy or whatever.
You need to kind of jump out of your rolls
for a day or two and just to recharge. If aie,
if a genie flew down and put a bottle down,
and so now you've got one wish, what will that be? Kaya?
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Oh what he was a life was all right, let's.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Go footy wise. First, we'll give you two. He gave
you two options.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It gave you to ya. I like, I like this genie.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
This genie said, okay, you got one wish for your
career for football wise, what will that be?
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (38:29):
Win a Grand final? Winning a Grand final this year?
Well fantastic. I would love that, especially for the Green Machine.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
And yeah, just yeah, how much that would mean to
us in the club. I'd love to win a Grand final. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
And then probably life wise, probably just set my family
to be honest, you know, like.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Just a nice, enjoyable, stable life.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
You know, I sort of get my enjoyment out of
seeing my family or my people do well and seeing
seeing them enjoy little moments or trips or whatever it is.
You know, just being around family and just seeing them
seeing them happy makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
So yeah, that's awesome man. You're you're Mary Heritage.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Yeah, my mom's Mouldy Essue Coromunism.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
And your dad.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
He's Australian Scottish. My grandma's fool Scottish.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
So you could play for New Zealand or Scotland.
Speaker 4 (39:25):
Yeah, I don't really know too much from my Scottish,
but yeah, my grandma's fool Scottish.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
And yeah, so you've.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Registered your rugby league allegiance to the New Zealand kiwis.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Yeah, no, Australia. I was born in Australia.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Oh, so who do you want to play for?
Speaker 3 (39:37):
I don't know, That's the thing. I don't know. I
just sort of crossed that bridge when it gets when
I get there.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Well, I think you had to make decisions soon, man,
because I think the key is because I saw you
do that hardker for I think was it for taps?
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Is scot named captain?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And you did? I think you did it. I've seen
you do it a few times now. Probably you've got
to make that decision soon, I reckon man, But in
some maybe this is a question. I asked the a
lot of the I ask everyone my interview, a lot
of the old boys as well. And I'll usually leave
this questions till the end of a career maybe, but
I've been I've been saying it early, and I asked
Jed when he made his debut, and I've been asking everyone.
(40:13):
But I'll flick it to you now quite a week.
What does the camber Raiders mean to you.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Cambretors? To me?
Speaker 4 (40:22):
I've only been here for a short time, only a
year now, but like just sort of sense of belonging,
to be honest, Like I was at mainly for a
long time, and I went through the ranks there but
sort of just sort of sat back.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
And watched and didn't really take it for what it was.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
But coming here was a new challenge for me and
move away from family and just having to fully commit
to something that that I love.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
And yeah, Canberra is It's given me that that bit
of eaving my step and that bit of.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
That confidence and yeah, just I sends a belonging I
yeah or mate, I'll.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Let you be. Thank you very much mane and good
luck for said thank good luck for the rest of
your mate and will be there
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Celebrating hopefully that's the plant.
He's not here for the clickbait for the count side critics.
It's real and full of deep and meaningfuls with the
Raiders in a circle from laughs.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
To hard truth. He'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Ditch the negative noise and get behind the boys. This
is Raider Nick.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, I look forward to this chat. He is a quiet,
humble man, doesn't say too much, is a man of
limited words. But Jesus by Jingo boy Craik, he doesn't
he express and communicate on the footy field. I talk
about our number one, our star without embarrassing mister kaya Weeks.
How are you mate?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Good, like that very very big intro.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You are a man of limited words, Oh aren't you?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah? I guess so. I guess yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I sort of been like that since I was younger.
Bit uh shy, I guess.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
At fullback, though, you've got to have the chat. How
do you deal with that?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Well, I guess I sort of struggle. I still struggle
with that when I was still a little bit younger.
But you sort of have to realize that that's that's
your job, and you need to be able to talk
and boss the big boys around, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Once across that field, you know, it all sort of
mindset sort of switches and it's it. Yeah, you got
to go to work.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, coming from the halves, you're used to bossing the
big boys around, so that would have been a good
transition with you growing through growing up though, Kai where'd
you're play in juniors?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I played.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I've played all my footage tours for like fifteen or
sixteen five eight.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Wow, So you were definitely a behlf and never any
never any feelings at fullback?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
No, not really, Like I only started playing fullback and
one year of su bore and then yeah, just sort
of been going back and forth since then. But yeah,
I always always five to eight half back, go like,
I never really thought about anything else.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Played in the halves. And you obviously you were a
Manly junior, weren't you.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah? Yeah, so yeah I was at Manly. I went
through the pathways there.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I joined Manly when I was fourteen, So I did
have matt as you bore flag Cup and then full
like full.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Time first grade and then yeah it came camera last year.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Who did you did you kind of who did you
support growing up?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Like I didn't really have like all my I had
a team like our family team is the Dragons because
my my grandfather played for Dragons back in the day.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Who was grandfather Jeff Weeks?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, yeah, interesting, Yeah he played a few and those
he played in a a few of the Grand finals
and they went like eleven straight.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And run.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
The big names.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah yeah, yeah, he played a couple of those ended
up on the trophy. Yeah close.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
But yeah, like personally, like I didn't really I don't
really like to support our full team.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I really I just supported like players that I really liked.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Who were some of the players that you got around.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I used to like, I used to like watching like
Shawn Johnson, Kevin Locke, Jared Hayne obviously.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Kind of boys.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well I don't know, like.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
There's obviously a lot, like a wide range of players
I really like growing up. But yeah, probably my main
one of Sean Johnson, just because I played in the
halves too.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Did you play against Sewan at all? You would have?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
No?
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Never, never, never was I was good enough to play earlier?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So yeah, miss b buy you.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You got to Manly? That that would have been great
playing at Manly. Beautiful place to leave the Northern Beaches.
But Manly would have been an okay, experience for you
to get your run through the juniors. It's always good
when you're in a junior system and to go to way,
go through the way because you know yourself. I mean,
when you're playing juniors and Howrold Matt's jersey flair against
g ball, you can very quickly scatter, and you can
(03:41):
mate and go to other clubs or just drop off completely.
But to see it through and run out in first grade,
that must have been a great little honor for you.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, no, it was cool, like you sort of. My
debut sort of happened pretty quick. I only found out
a captain's run because someone had COVID COVID. I mean, yeah,
Lucky Croak added COVID.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
N Yeah, he had COVID and then yeah, we went
to team meeting and I just saw my name on
the board. I was, oh, damn.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
But yeah, yeah, it was cool because, like we had
there was a few boys who played juniors with many
who are playing at the time, like Josh Schuster, Tyler Kohler,
a bench.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Of Voi, witch.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Shot Shooter.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah yeah, sure, yeah, So what happens when you grow
up playing a lot of footy with these boys? You know,
he created like a good bond and especially you know,
like we won hald Maths together. We went to a
few grand finals together, but we didn't win to Hawd
Maths or actually bo we went to a few grand finals.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah in the ranks.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But so you played at the big stage at the
junior level, which is always it's a big one.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah, we've got I think we got the first the
first hard Maths UH grand final and they can think
that mainly.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
So yeah, I played, I played Harold Betz and we
had called Magie McGuire coaching, Aounis and Neil Henry and
all them. And we played in the semi final against
the Bulldogs and we had to win, like they scraped
in and we were like have done a year and
they beat us and they coached him talked to us
for three days, mate, sometimes it was sons on the
(05:20):
whole way home. Talk to us until for a few
vis at the presentation. But mate, I remember you've got
to court the Raiders and without embarrassing you there, you know,
a huge profile left. We had Jack White and leave
and then they know Ricky went out. And you know Ricky,
he doesn't want to get one replacement. He likes to
get three into one. He likes to create competition for spots.
(05:42):
He's ubcepts obsessed with depth, but he has to because
we don't get the big marquees yet to Canberra. We
make our own. We make our own being the Operative world,
and we've got a few on our own right now.
How did it come about the phone call to come
to Canberra? And had that a unfold?
Speaker 4 (06:00):
So I met my manager and Joel Carline for lunch
one day and I was just talking to Joel and
stuff like that, and obviously Jack was leaving, and Joel
whipped out his computer and started showing me like clips
and stuff of me.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Playing, like I've never sort of experienced something like that on.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
A different.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Oh yeah, well just someone who just came to talk
to me.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And then he he wanted to show me clips of
myself playing.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I was like, Oh, this guy he.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Might actually really care, he might actually watch, Like he's
not just trying to full time or yes, just to
say hello or some just to show that the club's interested.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, just tacking the box. He's actually it's committed.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah. And then.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I was supposed to go meet Stick when the season finished,
but that they were boys still playing finals and they
were playing Newcastle.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
They just lost. It's the Newcastle that semi final. It's Stick.
The next thing.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I was pretty nurse, so I didn't know how he
was going to feel and if he's going to be
a bit angry or whatnot. And me and my old
boy drove down and met Stick and Yeah, he just
sort of said like like I want you, I want
you here, like and I need you to be ready
and stuff like that. And it was just sort of
just like that sense of belonging since that he really wanted.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Me here and he really cared.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah, And like obviously when someone you know lays it
out in front of you, like doesn't really it won't
lie to you and tell you how it is like
the balls in your court, like you sort of want
to do everything to show them.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, like it is like I'm ready sort of type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And that you just walk away so pumped on that a.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, like you just feels you of confidence and he's like, oh,
this guy like he cares and he believes in me.
That's sort of the main thing you need someone you coach.
You want your coach to believe in you and back you.
So yeah, that Alayne just said to my old boy,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's amazing. I said to Save last week on this
show and we spoke about this, and a lot of
people ask me, what's Ricky Stewart like, Because there's all
these different perceptions are sticky and you know yourself, you
know the ones that are in the inner sanctum of Ricky.
Youton knows the true passionate man that he is. Yeah,
but I Reckon and I ask him what's his best attribute?
He's got lots of good attributes. But there's a wonderful
(08:26):
thing about Ricky Stewart is you feel seen, don't you.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah, Well that's that's yeah, Like you can come in
and anyone can talk in meetings like there's no there's
no like ranks, so to speak, Like we've got we've
got tapped with our leadership group and got our coaching staff,
but everyone's voice is heard, you know, like you've got
something to say, you can say it and sort of
like a safe space to to you know, chip boys
up or bring up opinions when we've got meetings out
(08:53):
in the field like and that's sort of just that
that's a big part in itself, just being able to
speak your mind and not feel like have freedom. Yeah,
like people gonna take the piss out of your stuff
like you.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Know, yeah, have freedom. And everyone's just kind of on
just backing. You're on your side and there's no wrong
answer and yeah there's no there's no toxic masculinity.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Well yeah, like everyone, Yeah, everyone does have opinion that
they sort of asked you what do you think? Yeah,
And to be able to be comfortable enough to speak
your mind, yeah, like it's good.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
That's great. And just being seen by Ricky being seen
the Raiders, he would have worded up Joel there and
then or you would have been like spinning out, like
how does he know all this looks he's got clips
on me? And how good it is and you know
it's not manipulative. It's like this guy's fair income.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, we're just He was just saying, like, I like
these things that you do here, and we could do
something we could use help you, Yeah, to improve yourself,
like did you see you doing this?
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Difference you do it on.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
The other side or vice versa, you know, like they
see good things and they see the bad things, like
he told me my first time meeting him, and he
was telling me like I can do things bad.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I was like, Okay, that's I mean, that's awesome because
you want you want to hear that. And and he's
doing your favor because he's digging out his strengthening weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Yeah, like he's not just trying to tell me how
good I am or how like try to fill my
ties up or whatever. Like he's sort of, you know,
saying these things that we can help, we can help
work on and stuff for that. And yeah, I just
I liked I liked how it sounded. And after I
met both of them, I came out to the club,
had to.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Look around and stuff like that, Like it was. It
was cool. I was pretty committed.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
My manager and my dad were pretty keen for me
to go down.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So yeah, it was good.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And then we fast forward to the start of the
year and the game where you really got on the
canber Raiders radar without embarrassing. It was that game against
Manly and we I think it was at a Thursday
night we played them. They were actually I think it
was eighteen zip. At one stage, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Oh, yeah, it wasn't a great start.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It was a great start, but to come back against
Manly at profile over as you know, not not an
easy thing to do, you with an informed d C
at the helm and DCE for some reason always pulls
his socks up against the Raiders. For some reason, him
and Croaks used tot Lachlan. I mean, you know Craigs,
because Craig's got you know, once to get back one
on the team obviously his old team. But DC, everyone
(11:14):
was there. They skipped away and then you suddenly start
coming back. But yourself, are you outstanding, very instrumental, and
they come back. You were poking goals from the corner.
You kicked it six from six that night or something,
scored a try, set a few up, really put yourself
on the radar there. That would have been a good
That was almost like you arriving at the club, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Oh yeah, well yeah, it was a bit of a
slow start to the season. But my first game in
first grade wasn't the best. And then we got a
beat forty nil by the Sharks at home, and then
we obviously knew it was a big test going to
go up against Manly the next week, and.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Like Elliott, Elliot, what, I had.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
A fantastic game that game too, you know, as I skipper,
he was leading from the front. He tries you got
the intercept that that let's set me up for my
first I think even gave me a flick pass. But
it's like it was just it was a real big
team effort and miserable all night, but it was it
was it was good to get a win. And yeah,
it was good to get a win up at brook
(12:11):
And I remember that that week because we had a
we had a buy coming in after that and it
was sort of a very big game for us.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
It was a good old game, but a tough game,
but yeah, it was. It was good to get a
win there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
It was there a sense of I don't know if
you can remember because it was a while ago now,
but is there a sense of familiarity because you grew
up on those fields of brook Fall and here you
are today. I mean, you're kicking goals from Asylum. But
if anyone knows just the comference of that, you know, grass,
the goldflast ground, it's hard like yourself.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, well, uh, you know, it was a long time
since I was on the other the other end of.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
The manly fans. But it was good. It was good.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Experience, and obviously we played that at the start of
the year. This year, there wasn't one of my my finest,
my finest hours either, but yeah, it's that's footy.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Some as you win, sometimes you're losing. Yeah, that was
a good game back then.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
That was sport in general, and that you said you
can't sometimes you just can't explain today. But then obviously
Ricky puts you back to fullback. I can the storm.
It was a bit of a lean period were going through.
He puts you back at full back, and wow, putting
you with all that room at the back there in
the back three, with space to wind up and room
to move, I mean you scored one of those hundred
(13:25):
tries that you've become a bit of a stock standard
thing for you. That would have been cool. How'd you feel,
first of all when you said you're playing fullback? What
was that like?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yeah, it came a bit of a shockers rapper told me,
like in the car park, he goes, are you playing
fullback this week?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Because he hated it, he wanted to go back to
the wing. But yeah, it was good.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I enjoyed it was even that game was a bit
of a rocky starter I didn't think I caught too
many balls at the starter.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Wow we old night.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
But yeah, we only just lost against against Melbourne too.
But yeah, that was that was a tough game. I
really I enjoyed that. That game just sort of showed
out how much gritain, you know, toughness the boys had
that night. Like I know, we defended up a fair
lot that game.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I remember it.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Was a gutsy performance against the Storm nearly had them. Yeah,
it was a bit of a realignment and we finished
the season strong, of course, from the last three Pantheit
Roosters beat the Dragons who were find for eighth position
going into the off season and now kind of establishing
yourself at fullback and coming in from half and you
mentioned you had no experience at fullback, so are you're
(14:35):
still a work in progress there? What was it like
with sticking in the coaches and in your position there?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
You take the games week by week, but you sort
of take learnings from every week and every game in
every session.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
That you have, you know, like.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Just for me personally, I just try to, I don't know,
just just grow, grow and learn from experiences. You know,
whether it's a good or bad game. You to take
some things out of the game, whether it's errors or
like you miss you miss your job, where you miss
a care or you miss a tackle, whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
You know, you just always got to keep learning.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
And our coaching staff and our players, they really test
us a week by well every week, you know, to
get better and to get that little improvements too, to
get our team better.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So yeah, every week is a new challenge and yeah,
I just enjoy it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
And now for our Raiders on Mixed Call team here
in Canberra, you got our of the year and we
just awarded to that recently, so we're happy to give
you that. But that must be cool because you didn't
start the season, you know, you didn't come into a
certain amount of period of time. And we base that
on you know, we all put a Man of the
(15:50):
Match on we all, you know, we all vote amount
of the match. A lot of us have all got
different ways we view the game, but a lot of
the times, man, we all agreed on yourself. That's that's
something cool. I remember I told you that at the
presentation and they're like, WI spit in your ings, like
I just got going to award. So we've got to
get you ready to do some presentations the next thing. Okay,
let's announce the Coaches Award. The twenty twenty four Canber
(16:14):
rated season goes to Kio Weeks.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
No, that was crazy. I couldn't believe it, to be honest.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I was just like, there's obviously a lot of boys
could have got it, and a lot of boys had
a pretty good, pretty good solid season.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
And then Stick, Oh, I mean, what's what's her name?
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yvonne said, yeah, yeah, of course Fox.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah, she said my name. I was, what the hell
was this?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
How many champagnes have I had? He thinks?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah. I was so shocked. I was like, what the
hell's going on?
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And I remember Stick when I shook Stick saying, he's
like he just said, like enjoy it, like this is
for you?
Speaker 3 (16:59):
What the hell?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Mate? And then you doubled up with the Raiders and
explainer the mate, Peanut understand why either it's a good traph,
isn't it? It's pretty good traph.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah, it's pretty solid growth, to be honest, solid mate.
It's bigger than my bigger than my raiders on.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
But yeah, well rapper on it once and I went
to his house and we watched it. I mean we
spoke about it with the big guitar video and he
moved his like meaning a medal away to the side
to put that one in. He loved the station. He
loved the old, old, old bang of tunes. I remember
when you when you when you went up there and
you said, I love this town and I love this club.
And for everyone, you know, myself included, but for everyone
(17:40):
in that crowd who are just Canbra first Camebra people,
but also secondly, well just as much Raiders people as well.
It's always a good feeling when we see a boy
that's come from out of Canbra, you know, especially in
a nice you know, a nice beautiful place like the
Manly Beaches, Northern Beaches, and to come and just say
there's nowhere else I want to be. And how quickly
(18:01):
you've galvanized and become a Camberon. That was beautiful, man,
And that was that gave everyone goose bumps. What is
it about camber and what is about the club that
made you kind of make statements like that?
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Just the people, to be honest, like, our club does
a fantastic job of like welcoming players in because obviously
you have to get away from wherever you're from, is
from Sydney or Queensland or wherever it is from, well
away from your family family, and you come to Canberra.
The club does a great job in welcoming them and
supporting them, and especially the boys. You know, our playing
(18:37):
group is so tight, Our partners are tight. You know,
they go for they go for lunches or whatever it is.
And yeah, if you see one of the boys, you
more than likely see one one of the other boys
or their family.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
At the same place.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So the club has done a done a great job.
And just the people of Camber, you know, they're so
so welcoming. You can you can bump into people in
the street and get noticed or or knock get bumped
into it, or people are just.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
So nice, you know, like it's just it's pretty. It's
pretty easy going.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
And that's sort of how I like it, you know,
like not too fast, just easy going, get bitter, relaxing,
and you know, like it's good.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
It's good.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
It's a good place when obviously when we're winning, but yeah,
when when the family is happy and the town's happy,
you know, it's a good place to be around.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
It's very it's it's very spacious, isn't it. But it's
spacious around everything. It kind of creates that space in
your head too. You know, you're not stressing around and
it's in a big city and it's got those kind
of cool benefits. And he's all about ten fifteen minutes
away from each other. Yeah, and when you're winning, mate,
you're don't feel the cold.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, I know you don't feel the cold as much
as much.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You're right there. We're going to talk about this year
and I don't want to embarrass it, but I'll just
say it made some of the some of your performances,
some of your individual bits coming out of the team
performances have been amazing. My man and I I want
to talk about. Someone asked me, what's We're doing a
promo at the radio. It's called the four year Moment
of the Year where we've got listeners that got to
(20:07):
submit their favorite moment, their four year moment, and then
we're going to give them a nice prize and we're
going to judge it. And I mentioned mine. My favorite
moment this year was the magic round Chip and Chase
by Kyo the wet Yeah, brilliance man like, And I
don't want to put you on the spot there. That's
kind of like backyard footy stuff. What it's hard because
(20:29):
I know you're not thinking about it, and I know
you don't wake up in the morning go okay, I'm
going to do a chip and chase in the week
Golden Point to win against the storm. It just happens
in reaction. What where do you think that comes from?
What kind of place you think that comes from? Coya?
Speaker 3 (20:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Ah, to be honest, it just sort of happened. I
sort of I don't know thinking about it.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Oh, I just sort of just sort of did it.
I can't really explain.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
It just happened.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
It just yeah, it just actually just happened. Lucky I
a half decent bounce.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Do you think that is because of the freedom you
feel at the rates to do that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Stuff, Yeah, I think so, especially like the confidence that
Sick gives us to back our ability. Probably a couple
of years ago I probably wouldn't have done it. Maybe
I probably would have tried to run. But yeah, just
the confidence that the playing staff and the playing group
give give the boys to back their own abilities.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
And yeah, it's just great. And you can just see
what what confidence does for a person.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
So yeah, isn't that beautiful when you've got a coach.
And then on the outside of people might think he's
hard to you know, hard to be underne and he'll
admit in his younger years you evolved to get this plays.
But you know, again we all know the real Stick
on the inside. But him to say to you, I
don't mind you making mistakes when you're trying things.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, well he always says that to us.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
But as a matter of fact, like you can make
a mistake, but if you're not practicing it, try it
like you do what a training can chuck up big bombs.
You can cheap and tastes that training. So as long
as you're practicing it, like I guess, he doesn't mind.
But there's no point trying to trying to do something
you haven't done and try to pull off in a
(22:09):
big game where it really it really matters, like you
need to be able to have the repetitions behind behind
the craft, I guess, And that's what Stick sort of
drills into us, is like you can do those things,
but obviously you need to back your own ability first,
but they also want you can.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
You remember what he said to you after that game.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Uh nah too, honest, that's a probably a long time
ago now, but was it addressed in any way? Just
that night was just a good performance again again against Melbourne,
you know, very tough, gridy winner, went all the way
down to the wire. But yeah, like I still remember
that magic ground game like it was. They also another
fast start and we had to fight our way back,
(22:51):
and that just sort of shows what type of team
we are and how how hard we want to work
for each.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Other what happens when you're behind, because I remembers talking
to Papa about this a few weeks ago too, and
this year we've had a lot of those big wins
have come from behind. I'll get to the Panthers win
in shortly, but just a couple of games that we're
down against we'll down against Melbourne that time angle down
by twelve even fourteen zippy thing, it might have been
(23:15):
fourteen zip it close, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yeah, they've got a few quick tries at the start.
I remember that.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
But I think it's just it's real calm and real clear,
like you're obviously going to get.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
A bit of a bit of reaction or a bit of.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Anger towards a decision or a try. But to be
able to bring yourself back in pretty quick and just
regulate your emotions is just you know, get back to
the next job.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
I think we're done. We've done a pretty good job
of that at.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
The moment or this season anyway, I'm not really holding
onto mistakes or or calls, you know, like it's done.
You have to leave it where it is and just
just move on with the next thing, to be honest.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Just dump it.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
Yeah, well it's sort of you have to get over
it all, Like what are you going to do about it?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
To be honest, we looked really fit this year.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Yeah, well, I Precedson is always hard, but our precid
this year it was pretty.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Hard, and it was pretty It's pretty focused on what
we want to and what we.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Want to be good at, and that's just you know,
just staying in the game and staying fit. You know,
like fitness can either win you or lose you the game,
you know.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
So stick and stick in.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Our coaching staff and made a great luck emphasis on
our on training recovery, getting getting your body right so.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You can go out there and perform.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
And our boys did a week and week out at
training you know, we always we're still testing each other
till to the final muscle goals or the sessions. The
sessions finished, you know, like you're not going to get
better by running through the motions each.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
And every week, you know. So yeah, we're feeling feeling
good and looking good.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I think a couple of those against the Dragons at
home classics, I've got to mention it made to that
Chip and Chase that was like, yeah, that that was
like my like those one hundred meters to try or
the two of them you scored against the Dragons, and
obviously the Chip and Chase and there is obviously probably listening,
so Marlow's we've got the new mallows here weeks. Just
(25:12):
it's just it just that's what's so beautiful about it.
And I think it just sums up where youse are,
like you just you can't sit there and say, hey,
I'm going to do this. It's just all of spare
of the moment stuff. And how you can do that
is have that freedom knowing what your role is and
then being in the moment of the game.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
So the eightieth minute, no, I think, yeah, they're sort
of you sort of knock the right on the head.
There's being able to have the freedom but also knowing
your role, Like if you're not if you don't know
your role, you're not going to be in the right
place or do the right thing at the right time.
So I think they're just they're not coincidences because you know,
(25:50):
you work too hard during the week and in your prep,
like things just don't happen just because like you have
to be there to be able to do things a
trial score, a try or a big special play, you know.
But I think that's sort of the thing that we
pride ourselves on to doing those things that sort of
a regular fan I don't really see, or a commentated
(26:11):
that doesn't see, but our boys see, you know, like
a kick, pressure, winning attack with you know, just just
those little things that the good teams are good at.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Okay, let's move on to the Panthers game.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yeah, Nathan Cleary has been known to put the jumper
over his head for a bit of a gag and
to slot those field goals blindfolded from twenty meters out.
You know, they could call him the ice Man. Yeah,
he's the ice Man. He's won premierships on one leg.
You know, we've all seen it. What's the life planing
against Nathan Cleary.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Oh that was my I think second time playing against
Nathan Cleary. The first time wasn't very wasn't a very
hot one. I was out at Penrith a couple of
years ago when I was at Manly and yeah, I
think that's called about like three or four trials on
my age in the first half and I was like,
what the hell am I got myself into?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
But yeah, on the weekend it was a wow after
everything he's done in the.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Game and how great he is, you know, like it
was quite a you know, a good a good moment,
a good game too, to see where where us boys
were at the moment and how he shaped up against
you know.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Like a very good top side, like like the Panthers.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
He goes that field goal, Yeah, the gut starts to
sink as like he's going to ic hits the goal,
hits the goal. What could you remember what you were
feeling when he had the ball when he struck it,
because it left the boots sweetly anything shit, he has
kicked it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
But then I want to go charge it down.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
You ran out of the line to charge it down.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Yeah, I ran.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Yeah, I ran from my a I want to go
charge it down and I missed and I turned around.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I was like, oh no, this is like, this is
going in.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
I thought I would have given the post and and
still gone through, but it hit the post and came
back and I was like, oh my, who's there?
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Who's there?
Speaker 4 (28:04):
And I've seen Jeddie pop out of nowhere and yeah,
I guess yeah, that he passed the stranger. Then strange
you stepped a couple, thundered the couple, and then I
thought the strange is going to go all the way
to I was sort of just cheering. I was like, yeah,
go boy, go go go.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
But then you passed it to me, and yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
What were you feeling when you scored that dry man?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
I just I just thought I knew I had to
put the ball down like he'd done all the hard work,
so hopefully I didn't spoil it. But yeah, once once
it once a game was finished, like it was a
bit of a relief, you know, like everything you will
check down well to play the ball the way back
and down the end of the field, and yeah, the
game was finished, and it was just sort of like, yeah, Okay,
(28:50):
it's done now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Because you had to kind of stop and or kind
of almost turn back a little bit because the ball
was the past was a little bit too inside and
you had to go that mid motion. It was a
little bit soggy, yet there wasn't it, And then to
to get it in and to just have the pace
to score down you went but over the line.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Yeah, well it was a bit juy that night, but
I wasn't.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
I wasn't even looking when you passed it, to be honest,
I was looking at Jenkins seeing how fire was from him,
and then I turned back and the balls almost hit
him in the shoulder.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I said, oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
But yeah, I sort of knew from a little bit
if I just fell over and held onto the ball
that it'll be a try hopefully.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So yeah, it was. It was an intense couple of seconds,
but yeah, once it was once it was over, it
was over, And yeah it was good.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
What was a feeling down in that huddle when it
was a big pylon? I mean, to win a golden
point against anyone, Yeah, it's you know, it's just scare
of the moment, you know, one of those things. And
the crazy thing about that is Penrith were in front
the whole game, in the whole the whole game, and
then we squired it up at the end and then
to just for the first time to be in front
(29:55):
at the right moment, right the miracle that Maggie.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Yeah, I don't know. It was sort of not.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Like a relief, but like it's just that hard work,
you know that we talk about, just like if Jedty's
not there then they score, and Stranger's not there, then
we don't even score. We don't get at the other
end of the field. It's just everyone backing themselves again.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
We fall back to that. But yeah, once once that
pylon started happening, it was just like but yeah, like
that was good. It was it was a good thing
to be a part of. And yeah, it was a
good win for the club.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
But I think it was just good win for our season.
Just you know, so we're at leading into finals and
although we didn't we both didn't play probably to our
best of abilities.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
But it was a tough game, tough old gritty game
with the whole the whole.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Eighty five or whatever how long it went for. But yeah,
it was a good game to be part of.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
It's crazy how you guys are leading the competition. You
are still a work in progress and you haven't even
hit your stripes yet.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, well, I think, yeah, just just all that hard
work and the belief that we have, Like we've always
had belief down in especially coming in the preseason, you know,
being away from everyone else and being down in Cambra.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
It's it's a little bit easier just you know.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
To dial in and to stay away from the cameras
and stuff like that. But that belief was strong ever
since we started pre season and at the start, at
the start of the season, we talked about given this competition,
you know, like a real go and why kn'd of
be yus? And yeah, I think we're just we're just
doing that week by week now.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
And I've said this to everyone. The humility you guys have,
it's kind of like it's when I talk to you guys,
it's like we're talking. It was like it's like last
year because they haven't skipped it. Be he's still the same,
you haven't been altered by what's happened so far, and
there's still a job to do and that's what's so
pleasing and a lot of people are saying, oh, you know,
it's you know, I hope you don't get too complacent
(31:53):
against those kind of lower teams we're playing. And it's like, no, no,
you watch the boys are very calm and very grounded.
Ricky keeps the lid on things and he allows us
you celebrate and then dump it and then move on
to the next week. What was the celebrations like after
the game in Mudgy.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
There wasn't too much of a celebration, to be honest, though.
We had to get on the plane pretty quickly after
the game. And you've probably seen the like we've got
a bit of a drinking not a drinking band, but
just be a bit sensible, you know, around drinking. It's
just just because the position position we're in at the moment,
you know, like the older boys always talk about how
(32:32):
hard it is to get to where we are, and
you know, you don't want to take it for granted, especially.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Just at the end of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
We always talk about sacrifice, and you know, what's what's
what's sacrificing the drink for a couple of weeks, so,
you know, for for a piece of history. So yeah,
that's the celebrations after after mudge went went too good,
but it went too big, I mean, but yeah, it's
it's all about we haven't really done much yet. We
(33:02):
haven't done what we said we want to do yet,
so it's all about ticking them boxes.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
And yeah, you know, finishing the season strong.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
How much do you take on a bit of a
buzz and off the glove that thing to happen to you?
Were you kind of pumped in your own mind for
a couple of days after that?
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Oh no, it's sort of it's sort of it's over.
Like it's cool on the moment, then it's done. You know,
you've got to get over going to get over a
loss or win as quickly as you can. You know,
if you stay in the past too long, you don't
look don't look ahead. And we've got a good challenge
this week, especially at home, you know, our last regular
season home game and against.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
The Tigers, and you know that then I push over.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
They're playing some good footy at the moment, so like, yeah,
as as I said, like it's it's good in the.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Moment, but you have to be able to move on
pretty quickly.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
And that's yeah, sort of something that I'm trying to
do especially whether it's.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Good or bad. You know, you've got to move on
pretty quickly and get onto the new challenge.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
And the thing is, at the time, it's like any
team with Coroussel and Luai in there, and you know yourself,
with those those players as players with the rip experience,
they can just show up on a day and just
have a blinder and they can carry the team.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
You know, yeah, well, anyone can beat anyone this year,
like you've seen that, Like we didn't play too well
against the Dragons and they beat us down at wins Stadium,
or the Tigers being at dogs, Like it's anyone can
bet anyone, and you've got to show up on the
day and you got to put your best your best
foot forward.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
And hopefully we're looking to do that again at home.
What do you like about camer The food? I love
the food here.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
You're a foody, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Yeah, a bit of a foodie. I like to go
I like to eat out him. I shouldn't.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
My parents and my partner always tells me I should
start making food and starts spending.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
So much food on takeout.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
But I love going out and you know, trying trying
new things, and it always tastes better when someone's cooked
for you.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
So yeah, well it's good.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's good because if you're busy, if you want to
lead a busy life, and you do a lot of
hard work on the you the footy, on the training
of pat can you do a lot of fo and
you do a lot of a lot of output, it's
good to just go to a nice restaurant, let someone
else do it and relax and enjoy. You know, there's
nothing wrong with that, mate.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Yeah, I know, especially when I'm with my partner.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
You know, she works, she trains extremely hard too, so
whenever we're together, that's aught he's eating out and you know,
just I don't know, just enjoying, enjoying each other's company.
I think that's what I love about it so much.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
And you've really adapted to living in camera, like coming
from you know, being a Sydney boy. Really you love camera.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Yeah, cameras, cameras amazing.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
You know, it's it's fast enough or busy enough, but
it's also slow enough that you can just cruise around
and you know, just just enjoy enjoy the day or
enjoy the city or golf or whatever you're into. You know,
like I'm on into golf yet, but I should be
into golf. A lot of the boys are into it.
But hopefully next year I'll get into golf and get
(35:49):
down there on the good courses we got here. But yeah,
I just like how how busy camera can be, but
also at the same time how slow and relax it
can be.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
A love a minus ten handicaping, no time matete. Who
have you warned to? I know, like you know, these
are all one tight unit and camera. It's probably the
Raiders are probably the most harmonious teams in the competition,
considering we're just in a little bubble here and we're
so close and all the Traveler used dance. These are
all brothers or the brotherhoods there. But is there someone
(36:20):
in particular that you might have leanked towards because you've
got you know, you're similar in personality or something like that.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I don't know. We're like, oh, and so they always
get like your little groups.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
And whatnot, and like we always sort of have like
a little walk like a little walking crew or a
little gim crew or little barque crew, and it's just
full of some of the some of the younger lads
like toy Mooney, Albert HOPWARDI Micros some more. Sim I've
missed I've missed people right now and I can think
of it right now.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
But yeah, just the whole whole bunch of.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Boys that we you know, just get around, go for
a coffee, go for a walk, go to gym whatever
it is, go.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Have feeds that go to their houses, watch the footy.
You know, just just those things makes living here a
lot easier. And yeah, that's sort of sort of sort
of the crew at the moment.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Something tells me too that you don't mind some of
your own companies well to recharge a little bit.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Yeah, yeah, I'm sort of I sort of do like
my own company.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
Like I can go out to the shops or go
go get food by myself like that. Those things don't
really bother me, like I do like my own company.
But yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Let me tell you, when you get older, you pray
for your own company, especially when you have kids. Mate,
you love going out getting a feed on your own,
you love might I'll even end up going to the
movies on my own just to kind of get away
from the noise and.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
Just yeah, like sometimes you know, you see the boys
every day you don't want to be with them all
day and your off day either.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So yeah, things by yourself. It's it's easy and just
chill do whatever I do. Like my I do enjoy
my own space.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Absolutely because you're not you know, you're the football guy,
you're the relationship guy, you're the sun guy or whatever.
You need to kind of jump out of your rolls
for a day or two and just to recharge. If aie,
if a genie flew down and put a bottle down,
and so now you've got one wish, what will that be? Kaya?
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Oh what he was a life was all right, let's.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Go footy wise. First, we'll give you two. He gave
you two options.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It gave you to ya. I like, I like this genie.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
This genie said, okay, you got one wish for your
career for football wise, what will that be?
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (38:29):
Win a Grand final? Winning a Grand final this year?
Well fantastic. I would love that, especially for the Green Machine.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
And yeah, just yeah, how much that would mean to
us in the club. I'd love to win a Grand final. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
And then probably life wise, probably just set my family
to be honest, you know, like.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Just a nice, enjoyable, stable life.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
You know, I sort of get my enjoyment out of
seeing my family or my people do well and seeing
seeing them enjoy little moments or trips or whatever it is.
You know, just being around family and just seeing them
seeing them happy makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
So yeah, that's awesome man. You're you're Mary Heritage.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Yeah, my mom's Mouldy Essue Coromunism.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
And your dad.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
He's Australian Scottish. My grandma's fool Scottish.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
So you could play for New Zealand or Scotland.
Speaker 4 (39:25):
Yeah, I don't really know too much from my Scottish,
but yeah, my grandma's fool Scottish.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
And yeah, so you've.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Registered your rugby league allegiance to the New Zealand kiwis.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Yeah, no, Australia. I was born in Australia.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Oh, so who do you want to play for?
Speaker 3 (39:37):
I don't know, That's the thing. I don't know. I
just sort of crossed that bridge when it gets when
I get there.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Well, I think you had to make decisions soon, man,
because I think the key is because I saw you
do that hardker for I think was it for taps?
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Is scot named captain?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And you did? I think you did it. I've seen
you do it a few times now. Probably you've got
to make that decision soon, I reckon man, But in
some maybe this is a question. I asked the a
lot of the I ask everyone my interview, a lot
of the old boys as well. And I'll usually leave
this questions till the end of a career maybe, but
I've been I've been saying it early, and I asked
Jed when he made his debut, and I've been asking everyone.
(40:13):
But I'll flick it to you now quite a week.
What does the camber Raiders mean to you.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Cambretors? To me?
Speaker 4 (40:22):
I've only been here for a short time, only a
year now, but like just sort of sense of belonging,
to be honest, Like I was at mainly for a
long time, and I went through the ranks there but
sort of just sort of sat back.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
And watched and didn't really take it for what it was.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
But coming here was a new challenge for me and
move away from family and just having to fully commit
to something that that I love.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
And yeah, Canberra is It's given me that that bit
of eaving my step and that bit of.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
That confidence and yeah, just I sends a belonging I
yeah or mate, I'll.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Let you be. Thank you very much mane and good
luck for said thank good luck for the rest of
your mate and will be there
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Celebrating hopefully that's the plant.
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